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<\/p>\nThe AFLW trade period has come and gone and now the AFLW draft takes centre stage.<\/p>\n
The 2025 AFLW Draft is almost upon us, with young guns ready to realise their footy dreams and AFL clubs ready to recruit the next wave of stars.<\/p>\n
From start times to a bidding system explainer, plus the top prospects to watch, here\u2019s everything you need to know in our 2025 AFLW Draft Ultimate Guide!<\/p>\n
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Watch live coverage of the 2025 Telstra AFLW Draft, exclusively on Fox Footy and Kayo Sports 15 Dec | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n More coverage \u2026<\/p>\n PHANTOM DRAFT: Shock calls, bids galore as top 25 picks predicted in MEGA late mail<\/a><\/p>\n TRADE WRAP: No.1 pick draft bound AGAIN after 13-trade Deadline Day chaos<\/a><\/p>\n WHEN IS THE 2025 AFLW DRAFT, HOW CAN I WATCH IT AND WHAT TIME WILL IT START?<\/p>\n The 2025 AFLW national draft will be held on Monday December 15, with coverage beginning from 7pm (AEDT).<\/p>\n Fox Footy, via Channel 504 and streaming on Kayo Sports, has exclusive broadcast rights for the draft this year.<\/p>\n You can also follow the AFLW draft live on foxfooty.com.au\ufeff, along with Fox Footy\u2019s social media channels, with analysis of every pick and every club.<\/p>\n Every club must take at least two selections into the draft.<\/p>\n After 60 players were taken in the 2024 AFLW draft, around 45 to 50 are set to be taken on Monday night.<\/p>\n Roos dominate Lions to win by 40 | 02:43<\/p>\n HOW DOES THE AFLW DRAFT WORK?<\/p>\n All 18 clubs earn draft picks, which are based on the reverse finishing order from the previous AFLW season.<\/p>\n Many picks, however, change hands during the AFLW trade period. For instance this year, Pick 17 was initially held by Melbourne before going through the hands of Gold Coast and Brisbane, before finally landing at Adelaide.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also an extra pick in the first round after the GWS Giants were handed a first-round compensation selection (Pick 3) as part of an AFL assistance package.<\/p>\n On draft night, the clubs select in order, adding the best young or mature-aged talent that aren\u2019t already on AFLW lists.<\/p>\n An exception is when bids on father-daughter and academy prospects that are linked to certain clubs are made. Those clubs can then choose to match those bids made by a rival club by using one of their own picks within 18 selections of the nomination.<\/p>\n Last year, Geelong placed a bid on Carlton father-daughter Sophie McKay at Pick 17, but the Blues were able to match it with a later pick to secure McKay\u2019s services. <\/p>\n HOW DOES THE AFLW DRAFT BIDDING SYSTEM WORK?<\/p>\n Unlike in the men\u2019s draft \u2014 where a Draft Value Index is used to allocate points to draft picks \u2014 the AFLW system is far less complex.<\/p>\n Any club can place a bid on a northern academy or father-daughter selection. If the club tied to that player wants to match the bid for that player, they must do so a pick they own \u2014 and it must be within 18 selections of the bid. For instance, if Sunny Lappin was the first Suns academy prospect to attract a bid at Pick 5 and Gold Coast wanted to match, it must use a selection between Picks 6 and 23. The Suns, after the trade period, hold Picks 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23, so they\u2019d comfortably match using Pick 19.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll often see in the men\u2019s draft that clubs can package up a host of later picks (that sometimes won\u2019t be used) for a top-end talent, but this formula for the women\u2019s means that clubs will have to \u2018pay\u2019 something close to their \u2018true\u2019 value.<\/p>\n WHO ARE THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE DRAFT AND WHAT ARE THE KEY STORYLINES?<\/p>\n Who will Tigers take with pick 1?<\/p>\n Richmond targeted Pick 1 during the trade period and struck a deal with the Suns to land the coveted first selection. The Tigers rate three players above all others in the pool, but there\u2019s a growing belief they\u2019ll pounce on Northern Knights product <\/a>Scarlett Johnson<\/a> \u2014 a versatile defender\/wing who put together a strong campaign for the Knights and Vic Metro. Her stocks were only boosted during the national combine, where she produced three top-10 finishes in the 20m sprint, agility test and running vertical jump.<\/p>\n Scarlett Johnson of the Knights. Picture: Rob Lawson\/AFL PhotosSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n Oakleigh Chargers star <\/a>Chloe Bown<\/a> and Subiaco key forward Olivia Wolmarans are the other players in Richmond\u2019s Pick 1 mix.<\/p>\n Bown won just about everything possible in her draft year, dominating for the Chargers, Metro and AFLW Academy. She\u2019s a beast around the coalface, can kick on both sides of her body and loves to hit the scoreboard. A hard-worker with a strong footy IQ, Bown has plenty of upside at the top level.<\/p>\n Wolmarans is the best open pool key position player, blessed with pure athleticism and strong aerial ability. She\u2019s fast, agile and has a booming kick. \ufeff<\/p>\n When will the bids come?<\/p>\n The Giants, who currently hold Picks 2 and 3, will consider taking the two players Richmond ultimately overlooks.<\/p>\n \ufeffBut they\u2019re also being widely tipped to place bids \u2014 and not on any Suns academy players.<\/p>\n Instead, the Giants have interest in two Sydney academy prospects: Athletic utility Alex Neyland and midfielder Kiera Yerbury. Some rival clubs believe the Giants will \u2018double bid\u2019 with their early back-to-back selections. If that happens, the Swans would only be able to match for one player, considering only one of their first two selections (Picks 18 and 28) would be in the 18-pick matching range.<\/p>\n Sources believe the Swans are prepared to match for Neyland, but would allow another club to take Yerbury. However that will likely allow the Swans to use Pick 28 to match for a third academy player in ruck Maddie Quinn, who\u2019s been strongly linked to Brisbane (Pick 11).<\/p>\n Then the attention will come for Gold Coast\u2019s stacked crop of Academy talent.<\/p>\n Sunny Lappin of Queensland during the Marsh AFL National Championships. Picture: Mark Brake\/AFL Photos\/via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n Sunny Lappin \u2014 the daughter of All-Australian Matthew Lappin \u2014 is widely expected to attract a bid first from Adelaide (Pick 4).<\/p>\n Then all of Ava Usher<\/a>, Georja Davies<\/a>, Dekota Baron and Alannah Welsh could have their names called out by either Collingwood (Pick 5) or Essendon (Pick 6), with a Welsh bid a chance to slip a bit later. A sixth Suns academy prospect in Mikayla Nurse is now widely expected to be matched in the first round, too.<\/p>\n Is this bidding system better? <\/p>\n We\u2019ve detailed the variations between the women\u2019s and men\u2019s draft bidding systems above, but again it looks as though the Gold Coast Suns will be big winners on draft night. <\/p>\n Usher, Davies, Lappin, Baron and Welsh all genuinely have top-10 claims. Then there\u2019s Nurse, Rhianna Ingram, Annabelle Foat and Bronte Parker. That\u2019s eight girls who could all find progress from the Academy to the senior side in this draft alone. <\/p>\n There were two figures in particular who have played a key role within the Academy including ex-AFL player Rhyce Shaw, who now coaches the Suns\u2019 AFLW side, and assistant coach Sam Isles.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a big thing, but now it\u2019s trending up there. It\u2019s so important and a reason why the Suns have so many good girls coming through. He made us feel wanted and I think that was really important,\u201d Davies said of Isles to foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n She said of Shaw: \u201cSeeing someone love the game as much as he does, you don\u2019t see someone so obsessed on the Gold Coast often. It\u2019s good to see what an actual footy fanatic is.\u201d<\/p>\n Erin Phillips with Suns AFLW coach Rhyce Shaw after being appointed Gold Coast Suns general manager of women\u2019s football. Picture: Chris Hyde\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n Who are the other top prospects to watch?<\/p>\n Overall, 15 players have been invited to attend draft night, which is usually a solid indication they\u2019ll be taken in the first round.<\/p>\n Of the aforementioned players, Johnson, Wolmarans, Bown, Neyland, Yerbury, Lappin, Usher, Davies, Baron and Welsh will be there.<\/p>\n The other top-end bolter is SA star midfielder Imogen Trengove, who\u2019s been invited amid interest from both Collingwood and Adelaide. Initially it was thought the Crows would consider her with one of their later first-round selections (Picks 13 and 17), but there\u2019s strong Trengove-Magpies mail at Pick 5, so would the Crows pounce at Pick 4 instead?<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Calder Cannons on-baller Chloe Baker-West<\/a> has been invited, with strong links to being selected by one of Essendon or the Western Bulldogs to attend draft night. Baker-West is a ball magnet who can play across all three lines with a high footy IQ and an elite kick.<\/p>\n Top Tassie prospect <\/a>Priya Bowering<\/a> and Central District midfielder Sophie Eaton will also be at Marvel Stadium.<\/p>\n And ample intrigue surrounds where Peel Thunder intercept defender Evie Cowcher will land.<\/p>\n Evie Cowcher of the AFL National Academy. Picture: Josh Chadwick\/AFL Photos\/via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n Despite missing most of her draft year with a back injury, clubs know how supremely talented Cowcher is, given her aerial ability, footy IQ and decision-making.<\/p>\n But in terms of which club Cowcher could go to, she\u2019s been hard to place. She\u2019s in the mix for all of the Giants, Crows, Magpies and Bombers \u2014 some believe she won\u2019t get past Essendon \u2014 but all four clubs have strong links to other players, prompting suggestions Cowcher could slide a touch on the night. There\u2019s absolutely no way West Coast (Pick 12) overlooks her as that would be a dream scenario for the Eagles, who are understood to be looking for some run off half-back.<\/p>\n Other names to keep an eye out for include Eastern Ranges pair Tayla McMillan and Jordyn Allen, GWV Rebels on-baller Maggie Johnstone, WA duo Liv Crane and Mia Russo and West Adelaide bolter Lucy Waye.<\/p>\n Will a former No.1 pick land at the reigning premiers?<\/p>\n Former number 1 pick Kristie-Lee Western-Turner\u2019s bid to join reigning premiers North Melbourne during the trade period ultimately fell short, leaving the young Dog \u201cvery disappointed\u201d.<\/p>\n The Dogs and Roos were unable to strike a deal before the deadline, but Western-Turner\u2019s manager, Michael Oakes, believes she\u2019ll still find her way to Arden Street.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s very disappointed. We felt she had a great opportunity to go to another club, despite who the club was, it was a good fit for her as a player and a person,\u201d Oakes told AFL Media after the trade period.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019ll get to North Melbourne. She\u2019s committed and they\u2019re committed to taking her. She\u2019ll get to North Melbourne.\u201d<\/p>\n Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner of the Bulldogs warms up. Picture: Michael Willson\/AFL Photos via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n The Roos currently hold Pick 37, but will Western-Turner still be on the board by then? Both Hawthorn and Brisbane had interest earlier in the year \u2014 and sources believe the Lions will do their due diligence in the lead-up to the draft \u2014 but Western-Turner ultimately chose the Roos as her preferred destination. Western-Turner did not want to leave Victoria, which ultimately ruled Brisbane out \u2014 and Oakes hopes the Lions \u201crespect that\u201d.<\/p>\n Western Bulldogs list manager Dan Fisher said the Roos \u201coffered a host of late picks, the best of which was No. 37\u201d, but added that deal \u201cjust wasn\u2019t something we were able to do\u201d.<\/p>\n WHAT IS THE 2025 AFLW INDICATIVE DRAFT ORDER?<\/p>\n Note: The draft order is subject to change.<\/p>\n ROUND ONE<\/p>\n 1. Richmond (received from Gold Coast in pick swap)<\/p>\n 2. Greater Western Sydney<\/p>\n 3. Greater Western Sydney (AFL assistance package)<\/p>\n 4. Adelaide (received from Gold Coast in Hatchard trade, Gold Coast received from Richmond in pick swap)<\/p>\n 5. Collingwood<\/p>\n 6. Essendon<\/p>\n 7. Geelong<\/p>\n 8. Western Bulldogs<\/p>\n 9. Melbourne (received from Fremantle in Zanker\/Johnson trade)<\/p>\n 10. Port Adelaide<\/p>\n 11. Brisbane (received from Sydney in three-club Smith trade)<\/p>\n 12. West Coast<\/p>\n 13. Adelaide (received from Essendon in Prowse trade, Essendon received from St Kilda in pick swap)<\/p>\n 14. Melbourne (received Gold Coast in pick swap, Gold Coast received from Adelaide in Hatchard trade)<\/p>\n 15. Collingwood (received from Brisbane in Williamson trade, Brisbane received from Hawthorn in three-club Smith trade)<\/p>\n 16. Carlton<\/p>\n 17. Adelaide (received from Brisbane in three-club Boileau trade, Brisbane received from Collingwood in Williamson trade, Collingwood received from Gold Coast in three-club Cann trade, Gold Coast received from Melbourne in pick swap)<\/p>\n 18. Sydney (received from Brisbane in three-club Smith trade)<\/p>\n 19. Gold Coast (received from Carlton in Whitfort\/Bella trade, Carlton received from North Melbourne in pick swap)<\/p>\n ROUND TWO<\/p>\n 20. Gold Coast<\/p>\n 21. Gold Coast (received from Adelaide in Hatchard trade, Adelaide received from Greater Western Sydney in pick swap)<\/p>\n 22. Gold Coast (received from Richmond in pick swap)<\/p>\n 23. Gold Coast (received from Collingwood in three-club Cann trade)<\/p>\n 24. St Kilda (received from Essendon in pick swap)<\/p>\n 25. Geelong<\/p>\n 26. Collingwood (received from Western Bulldogs in three-club Cann trade)<\/p>\n 27. Gold Coast (received from Melbourne in pick swap, Melbourne received from Fremantle in Zanker\/Johnson trade)<\/p>\n 28. Sydney (received from Brisbane in three-club Smith trade, Brisbane received from Port Adelaide in Hampson trade)<\/p>\n 29. Collingwood (received from Brisbane in Williamson trade, Brisbane received from Sydney in three-club Smith trade)<\/p>\n 30. Port Adelaide (received from West Coast in Boyd\/Paterson trade)<\/p>\n 31. St Kilda<\/p>\n 32. Gold Coast (received from Adelaide in Hatchard trade)<\/p>\n 33. Brisbane (received from Hawthorn in three-club Smith trade)<\/p>\n 34. Carlton<\/p>\n 35. Fremantle (received from Melbourne in Zanker\/Johnson trade)<\/p>\n 36. West Coast (received from Port Adelaide in Boyd\/Paterson trade, Port Adelaide received from Brisbane in Hampson trade)<\/p>\n 37. North Melbourne<\/p>\n ROUND THREE<\/p>\n 38. Richmond (received from Adelaide in Egan trade, Adelaide received from Gold Coast in Hatchard trade)<\/p>\n 39. Adelaide (received from Greater Western Sydney in pick swap)<\/p>\n 40. Fremantle (received from Richmond in East trade)<\/p>\n 41. Collingwood<\/p>\n 42. St Kilda (received from Essendon in pick swap)<\/p>\n 43. Geelong<\/p>\n 44. Western Bulldogs<\/p>\n 45. Fremantle<\/p>\n 46. Sydney (received from Brisbane in three-club Smith trade, Brisbane received from Port Adelaide in Hampson trade)<\/p>\n 47. Collingwood (received from Brisbane in Williamson trade, Brisbane received from Sydney in three-club Smith trade)<\/p>\n 48. North Melbourne (received from West Coast in Slocombe trade)<\/p>\n 49. Essendon (received from St Kilda in pick swap)<\/p>\n 50. Essendon (received from Adelaide in Prowse trade)<\/p>\n 51. Hawthorn<\/p>\n 52. Carlton<\/p>\n 53. Melbourne<\/p>\n 54. Brisbane<\/p>\n 55. North Melbourne<\/p>\n ROUND FOUR<\/p>\n 56. Richmond (received from Gold Coast in pick swap)<\/p>\n 57. Greater Western Sydney<\/p>\n 58. Richmond<\/p>\n 59. Collingwood<\/p>\n 60. Adelaide (received from Essendon in Prowse trade)<\/p>\n 61. Geelong<\/p>\n 62. Western Bulldogs<\/p>\n 63. Richmond (received from Fremantle in East trade)<\/p>\n 64. Port Adelaide<\/p>\n 65. Sydney<\/p>\n 66. Carlton (received from West Coast in Skepper trade)<\/p>\n 67. Hawthorn (received from St Kilda in Butterworth trade)<\/p>\n 68. Adelaide<\/p>\n 69. Hawthorn<\/p>\n 70. Carlton<\/p>\n 71. Melbourne<\/p>\n 72. Brisbane<\/p>\n 73. North Melbourne<\/p>\n ROUND FIVE<\/p>\n 74. Gold Coast<\/p>\n 75. Greater Western Sydney<\/p>\n 76. Richmond<\/p>\n 77. Collingwood<\/p>\n 78. Essendon<\/p>\n 79. Geelong<\/p>\n 80. Western Bulldogs<\/p>\n 81. Melbourne (received from Fremantle in Zanker\/Johnson trade)<\/p>\n 82. Port Adelaide<\/p>\n 83. Sydney<\/p>\n 84. West Coast<\/p>\n 85. St Kilda<\/p>\n 86. Adelaide<\/p>\n 87. St Kilda (received from Hawthorn in Butterworth trade)<\/p>\n 88. Carlton<\/p>\n 89. Melbourne<\/p>\n 90. Brisbane<\/p>\n 91. North Melbourne<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The AFLW trade period has come and gone and now the AFLW draft takes centre stage. The 2025…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346454,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[191482,33319,121522,139159,191481,3437,638,71972,24164,64,63,689,55,639,54608,166582,166591,166585,3237,3526,50005,1129,180948,10200,191485,191490,12180,191484,191487,166581,15832,191480,166598,52767,139528,1127,139527,2485,9130,11288,1139,30394,10205,141648,24301,25555,191488,12097,647,7804,191483,191489,33348,15697,3436,677,164623,39232,133830,6082,179254,701,52765,117755,672,71041,191486,180957,166601,54243,1124,85,1122,60482,191491,33317,7200,9254,19081,52623,1133,660,698,18558],"class_list":["post-346453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-absolute-superstars","tag-academy-prospects","tag-academy-talent","tag-academy-utility","tag-actual-footy-fanatic","tag-aerial-ability","tag-afl","tag-assistance-package","tag-assistant-coach","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-ball-magnet","tag-bidding-system","tag-bidding-system-explainer","tag-bidding-system-work","tag-brisbane-lions","tag-calder-cannons","tag-centre-stage","tag-charlie-curnow","tag-chloe-baker-west","tag-chloe-bown","tag-clubs-ready","tag-dan-fisher","tag-dominant-display","tag-draft-bidding","tag-draft-bidding-systems","tag-draft-night","tag-draft-picks","tag-draft-start","tag-draft-work","tag-emma-kearney","tag-father-daughter-selection","tag-fox-footy","tag-georja-davies","tag-gold-coast","tag-gold-coast-suns","tag-grand-final","tag-greater-western-sydney-giants","tag-intercept-defender","tag-jordyn-allen","tag-keli-holiday","tag-key-position-player","tag-list-manager","tag-liv-crane","tag-max-gawn","tag-melbourne","tag-melbourne-demons","tag-metro-and-aflw-academy","tag-michael-oakes","tag-national-draft","tag-northern-knights","tag-oakleigh-chargers","tag-oceania","tag-open-pool","tag-peel-thunder","tag-pick-swap","tag-port-adelaide","tag-powerhouse-duo","tag-queensland","tag-reigning-premiers","tag-rhyce-shaw","tag-richmond-tigers","tag-ryan-ferguson","tag-sam-isles","tag-scarlett-alice-johnson","tag-social-media-channels","tag-sophie-mckay","tag-south-australia","tag-sports","tag-st-kilda","tag-suns-academy","tag-suns-set","tag-swans-academy","tag-sydney-swans","tag-the-key","tag-top-end","tag-top-end-talent","tag-trade-period","tag-victoria","tag-western-bulldogs","tag-world-health-organization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}